


silly you, silly me

by bellygunnr



Series: the tripod mast sees and hears all [1]
Category: Rockman X | Mega Man X
Genre: Arguing, Axl meddles so you dont have to, Canon Compliant, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, M/M, Rockman X7 | Mega Man X7
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:54:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23713948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bellygunnr/pseuds/bellygunnr
Summary: A clash of ideals wrest X and Zero apart-- not completely, of course, but enough for Axl to intervene before it all goes to hell.He regrets his decision, a little bit. But it turns out okay in the end.
Relationships: Axl & Zero (Rockman), X/Zero (Rockman)
Series: the tripod mast sees and hears all [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1707940
Comments: 6
Kudos: 40





	silly you, silly me

X and Zero were fighting. Their voices carried past the closed door and into the adjacent hall, practically emptying it of any other Hunters and ensuring no one else would even dare approach. For the most part, anyway. Axl was hovering outside the break room, his back pressed to the wall, arms crossed over his chest. He stared at the ceiling with a dour expression unbecoming of his usual temperament, optics dim with thought.

He was the new kid in town here. The difference? He had two feet in the door of working with the illustrious X and Zero, and hadn't taken the opportunity lightly. He considered himself Zero's friend-- Zero considered him dependable, which was almost as good. He had no idea what X thought of him.

Hatred was beyond the legendary Reploid's scope, certainly, but...

Now, X's despair was palpable. It was raw enough to inspire Axl's own empathy response, his stomach twisting uncomfortably. It was his fault that the two were fighting, after all.

He had been tired of the tension between the two. He thought if he could force them to talk it out--

Well.

Axl heaves a sigh, also uncharacteristic of him.

* * *

"Fighting is not the only way to be effective, Zero. You know this," X says, his voice taut.

"It's something people understands," Zero shoots back. "And it gets things done quickly."

"At the cost of Reploid lives! Human lives! Mortality rates for Hunters are at an all-time high--" X starts, flaring, his hands pressing against the surface of the table. 

"And whose fault is that? Rookies aren't in training longer than two months now, of course they're dying," Zero says harshly, waving a hand. "Not even I can fix that. And certain regulations prevent combat systems from--"

"For their humanity!" X cuts in, looking affronted. "Pre-installed combat systems have negative effects on young Reploids."

"We're not human, X, and those Rookies are nothing but fodder. They come off the assembly line dead."

"And I'm trying to change that," X says quietly. "I already have support on my side. It's just a matter of escalating it to the people who write the laws."

"But that's the problem, isn't it, X? They're people," Zero replies, but it's more of a hiss. "And we're not. They could never understand--"

"There's Reploids in the government now!" X snaps. "And the rights we implement in the Hunters are being translated on a grander scale. But that's not the point. What I'm doing is just as important as field work."

"Sure, if it got anything done," Zero sneers. The chair creaks as he slumps his weight against it; the table shudders as he rejects it, the heel of his palms pushing it aside.

Silence falls between them. X corrects the table before curling up in his own chair, face falling into his hands. Thin, mechanical fingers rub circles against his temples-- a purely human affect, nonsensical on a Reploid.

Zero still finds it endearing, but a part of him wants to hate it entirely.

( _all he does is love it_ )

"We need you," Zero says quietly. "I need you."

"They need me," X replies, voice a bare whisper. "Everyone needs me."

"I know."

* * *

Axl's rolls his neck and shoulders, then focuses on the door across from him. 

* * *

There's nothing to say. At least, Zero doesn't have the words, but he's never been good with them. He can act, though. He can act without speaking or thinking-- but everything X does is accompanied by a word and backed by a thought.

X is thinking now. He can see it in his eyes.

"I did this for me," X says slowly. "I took myself off the front lines for _me_."

His expression is nebulous, but his lips wobble. 

"I was losing myself," he continues. "All I could see was the destruction I was causing. I was freezing up on the field. My inability to act wounded one of my senior officers." 

Quietly, he speaks, softly, so softly, barely disturbing the air. Zero watches, silent.

"But I can't-- I can't do things for me, Zero," X murmurs. "So I put myself on a different tack, where I could see the progress I was making. Politics. Charity. Volunteer work."

"I speak at major events. I give speeches. I appear on television and do interviews. It's good for the Hunters on some level, of course. But Reploids like it, too."

"You don't understand how quickly I was losing hope. The field offers a very limited scope when you're ranked as high as we are, Zero. Even our patrols are in high-risk or hot zones. All I could see was the damage caused, the aftermath of dozens of conflicts. And it consumed me."

At some point, Zero's hands had migrated to the center of the table. He's gripping X's, thumb brushing along the ridge of his knuckles. Soft skin, beautifully patterned, a perfect mimicry of a human's. His own were smooth with no lines or grooves.

"There are many injustices in this world, Zero," X says softly. "I already know I can't solve every little one. But I have to try."

Just then, before Zero can find his words, the break room door swings open. Axl strides in, looking for all the world like a kicked puppy, or perhaps a wet cat. Then he pauses, as if taking X and Zero in properly for the first time, and smiles hesitantly.

"So did y'all make up, or..." Axl asks, jerking his thumb to the door. "Am I gonna have to tell everyone the break room's shut down for the rest of the night?"

"We're fine now," Zero says lowly, expression impassive.

X rubs at his eyes with his free hand. "Let's go, Zero. We both have places to be."

Axl steps aside to let them both go, noting with satisfaction that they're still joined by the hand. He was feeling awfully terrible for a minute there-- but in the end, his hunch had been right. 

They just had to listen to each other.

And X still had to hear him out, too.

**Author's Note:**

> we're not gonna talk about combat systems and their affect on young reploids, now are we. that's a helluva fight, considering zero.


End file.
